Delay of Game (The Baltimore Banners Book 6) (6 page)

Val glanced at her watch for the tenth time in as many minutes then blew out a deep breath of impatience. Not because Justin wasn't here yet, but because she kept looking at her watch, wondering when he was going to show up.

That is, when she wasn't looking over at the hi-tops that had been shoved together close to the bar. She should have known Randy would be here tonight. Not just Randy, but a few of the other players, too. Mat, Brad, Kenny, Derek and his new girlfriend, Bridget. Even Alec was here with his wife, AJ, though why they would be here if they had a night's break from their five-month-old son when they could be somewhere else, she didn't know.

The Banners were certainly well-represented tonight, no doubt about it. Val frowned and tapped one long nail on the smooth surface of the hostess stand. Randy being here could certainly make things awkward when Justin showed up. Then again, maybe he wouldn't notice, not with so many of the other players here.

That is, if Justin showed up.

No, she was being silly. Of course he was going to show up. She had said "late" dinner but never mentioned a time. It was just now going on eight o'clock. Maybe his definition of late was different than hers.

Maybe she should have been more specific. Or maybe he really wasn't going to show up. Maybe he changed his mind, or decided to make other plans. Or maybe—

Two couples entered the restaurant, smiling and laughing as they approached her. Val's gaze slid to the door, to the dark Spring night outside and the slice of empty sidewalk just visible through the closing door. She swallowed back a sigh of disappointment, smiled brightly at the two couples, then led them over to one of the few empty tables. The path led her straight past her brother and his teammates and she didn't miss Randy's curious gaze when she walked by.

Sure enough, he stopped her when she passed the second time, his hand snaking out and grabbing her elbow. Val turned, knowing he'd only follow her if she didn't stop now. For a big brother, he could be amazingly astute. And stubborn. And hard-headed and—

"Are you okay?" His voice was pitched low, but not so low that a few of his teammates didn't turn to look. Val smiled and tilted her head to the side, going for a look somewhere between vacant and innocently confused.

"Me? I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? Do I look like something's wrong? You're just seeing things." And okay, judging from Randy's scowl, maybe that was going just a bit overboard. He watched her for a few long seconds, his scowl getting deeper the longer he looked. Val shifted, trying not squirm under Randy's intense scrutiny, never letting her smile falter. He opened his mouth, no doubt to ask her if maybe she'd hit her head or something, but Mat cut him off.

"Hey, there's Justin. I didn't know he was coming tonight."

"Neither did I. He said he had something else to do." Kenny turned in the tall chair, his gaze sliding to the front door behind Val. "Shit. Why is he all dressed up? And is he carrying flowers?"

Val looked over her shoulder, her bright smile turning into a real one. Justin stood just inside the door, his gaze sweeping the restaurant from left to right. That boyish smile lifted one corner of his mouth when his gaze landed on her, warming her even from this distance. He was dressed differently tonight, in a pair of dark dress jeans and a button-down shirt a few shades lighter than the dark tan sport jacket he had on. Val looked down, smiling when she saw the dressy cowboy boots on his feet. And yes, he really was holding flowers in his hand. Not a bouquet, not really. Just three long-stemmed roses, the petals a rich creamy peach.

Val turned back to Randy, yanking her elbow from his loose grip. "I think Alyssa was looking for you. In the kitchen. I have to get back to work now. Bye-bye!"

She spun on her heel and hurried back to the hostess stand, ignoring Randy's confused sputtering. As an exit line, she could have done so much better, but seeing Justin standing there, in dress jeans and a sports jacket, holding the roses in his hand as he smiled at her, short-circuited her brain waves.

She reached the stand just as Jodi did. Val gave her friend a bright smile, opened the small door of the stand, and pulled out her small purse. "Thanks for covering. Gotta run."

Jodi didn't bother to hide her laughter when Val moved toward Justin. She didn't even wait for him to hand her the flowers, just reached down and took his free hand in hers and led him right back outside.

He looked a little stunned, stopping just long enough to try to hand her the roses. "I thought you might like—"

"I do. Thank you. They're gorgeous." She took the flowers from him and kept on walking, trying to hurry him along the sidewalk so they could at least turn the corner before—

"Valerie!"

—her brother came after them. She stopped and groaned, muttering to herself about meddlesome big brothers before turning around to face him. And she had to give Justin credit, because he just followed her lead, not saying a word, his hand still wrapped warmly around hers.

And not looking at her like she had suddenly lost her last shred of sanity. That in itself deserved a kiss. A nice long kiss. Which she'd give him, right after she got rid of Randy.

"Yes?" Val tried for the bright smile again, but it only made Randy scowl even more. She rolled her eyes and relaxed her face as he closed the distance between them, not stopping until he was only a foot away. She should have figured he'd go for the intimidation routine. His dark gaze dropped to their joined hands for several long seconds. Then he gave Justin a dark look before turning the same glare on her. Please. Like that worried her. He'd so have to do better than that.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

A muscle twitched in his jaw and impatience flashed in his eyes. He glanced at Justin, then back at Val. "Can I see you for a minute?"

"How about tomorrow? We're really in kind of a hurry and—"

"Now, Val."

Randy growled the words between clenched teeth. Literally growled. Val rolled her eyes again then gave Justin a bright smile. "Don't go anywhere."

He looked like he wanted to say something, whether to her or to Randy, she couldn't tell. But she didn't want him to say anything so she leaned up and gave him a quick kiss—and yes, she was pretty sure Randy growled again—dropped his hand, then grabbed her brother by the arm. Hard. Too bad he probably couldn't feel it, not beneath his sweater and all that muscle.

She dragged him a few feet away in the opposite direction, past the restaurant door and out of Justin's hearing. Then she dropped his arm, placed her free hand on her hip, and gave him her best furious scowl. "What is your problem?"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"We're going out to dinner. Or at least trying to. Why?"

"Out? With Justin?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Val, I swear, if you don't stop playing dumb I'm going to—"

"What? Sit on me like you used to do when we were kids? You can't do that anymore. I'll tell Mom and she'll—"

"Jesus Christ, Val. Knock it off." Randy ran a hand through his dark hair, scowled at something over her shoulder—probably Justin—then muttered something she couldn't hear. He took a deep breath, held it to the count of at least five, then let it out with a slow hiss. "Why are you going out with a Justin?"

"Because he asked me."

"And when did this happen?"

"Yesterday afternoon, before your game."

"So he just, what? Called you out of nowhere and asked you out?"

"Um," Val cleared her throat and looked away. She should have seen that one coming. "No. We've been talking and stuff and then he called to ask me out."

Randy's jaw clenched so hard, Val swore she heard his teeth grinding. "Talking?"

"Yes, talking." She cleared her throat again and willed her face not to turn red. "It's not like I don't know him, you know. I know all of your teammates. You guys are always in here and—"

"Enough. I don't want to hear it. And that's just the point. He's one of my teammates. What the hell is up with that?"

"Watch your mouth."

"Holy shit, Val. Stop already. Teammates are off-limits."

"Excuse me? You're living with my best friend! Did I say anything when you started dating Alyssa? No, I didn't. So Justin's your teammate. Big deal. You make it sound like I'm going out with all of them. It's only Justin. Dinner. One date." Well, technically it was just one date. Randy certainly didn't need to know about anything else.

"Val, Justin has issues. He's a drunk."

"No he's not." She really believed that, too, despite whatever was going on with him the last few months. But she didn't think it was a permanent thing, she really didn't.

"Val, listen to me. He has issues. You can't make him one of your projects, thinking you're going to fix him."

"Don't be ridiculous." She waved off his comment and tried to laugh but it sounded forced, even to her. "He's not a project. It's dinner. Just dinner. Not a big deal."

"Val, I'm telling you, this is a bad idea. You don't know—"

"Dinner. That's all. And I'm hungry, and you know how I get when I'm hungry, so I'm leaving now. Okay? Good." She didn't wait for Randy to say anything, figuring his frown said enough. She heard him muttering as she walked away but didn't pay any attention. Sometimes the best way to handle her big brother was just to ignore him. And in this case, that's exactly what she intended to do.

She reached Justin and offered him a smile, a real one this time. "Sorry about that. All set?"

"Val, maybe this isn't—"

She reached up and placed her fingers across his mouth, cutting him off. She knew what he was going to say, that going out wasn't a good idea, that he changed his mind. She didn't want to hear that, didn't want him to even think that.

Maybe she was doing everything backwards—no, she knew she was. Especially after the other night in her office. But she liked Justin, wanted to get to know him better. And no matter what her brother thought, she wasn't making him one of her projects.

Val moved her hand away from Justin's mouth, placed it in the middle of his chest. Her palm warmed from the heat of his body and she could feel the beat of his heart under hand. Strong, steady.

"I've really been looking forward to this since yesterday, so could we just ignore my brother and go have dinner?" The softness of her voice surprised even her, completely different, almost too serious, too needy. Val wanted to laugh, to shake it off and make a joke about it, but Justin's eyes warmed as he watched her. His mouth curled into a small smile, lighting his brown eyes, turning them to the color of warm chocolate. His hand closed over hers and he brought it to his mouth, dropping a quick kiss on the tips of her fingers. Then he lowered their clasped hands to his side and laced their fingers together, squeezing gently.

"I'd like that." He squeezed her hand once more then headed toward the parking lot behind the restaurant, stopping when they reached a large truck painted a shiny metallic black.

Val stopped when she saw it, then started laughing. Justin looked a little surprised and she quickly shook her head, trying to reassure him. "I'm not laughing at you, honest. I'm just surprised. I don't know why, though, because this is so you."

"Well, I hope that's a good thing."

"Trust me, it is." Val gave him another smile then studied the truck.

Shiny black with chrome accents, the truck was a special edition recent model. Val didn't know much about trucks, but she'd seen the commercials for this particular model and knew it was a limited edition, that only a few hundred had been made. It sat high, on some kind of lift with oversized tires and custom bumpers. Looking at it, it probably had a lot more than just custom bumpers. She also knew it came with a hefty price tag, despite its understated looks. And it fit Justin, the exact kind of vehicle she had imagined he'd drive.

Justin opened the door and helped her in, his hand brushing against her thigh as she settled herself in the soft leather seat. Sitting up high as she was, Val was actually looking down at Justin, his face level with her chest. She didn't miss the flash of hunger in his lingering gaze or the faint flush that suddenly tinged his cheeks pink. He cleared his throat and looked away, then shut the door and walked around to the driver's side.

He started the engine and the truck rumbled to life, the powerful engine throbbing beneath them. Justin turned in the seat, his brows lowered in a small frown, discomfort and indecision creasing his face.

"I'm sorry Randy gave you shit. I wasn't thinking—"

"No, it's fine. Really." She smiled and reached over, placed her hand on his where it rested against the center console. He looked so worried, so unsure. She squeezed his hand and smiled again. "He's just being Randy, don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? We don't have to do this if you don't want to. I mean, I understand, I'm cool with that if you changed your mind."

He looked so unsure, so lost and uncertain that Val's heart melted just a little more. Trouble, definitely trouble. It didn't matter if he was trouble, she wanted that frown to disappear, wanted to see that boyish smile on his face, no matter how dangerous it was.